Natural weathering and soil degradation characteristics of lignocellulosic sisal fiber based bio-PBS composites.

Life cycle analysis for lignocellulosic fiber-reinforced polymer composites is a systematic approach to evaluate the in-service life and end-of-life characteristics under various environments. The current experimental investigation aims to assess the durability properties under natural outdoor weather conditions (12 months) and end-of-life degradability under soil burial (6 months) of untreated and oxalic acid-treated sisal fibers (SFs) reinforced bio-based poly (butylene succinate) (bio-PBS) composites. Durability of biocomposites was evaluated using visual inspection, tensile and flexural properties, morphological characteristics using the Field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), thermal properties using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), degree of crystallinity using X-ray diffractometer (XRD), and structural properties using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. End-of-life degradation characteristics of developed composites were determined using weight loss, microstructural analysis, and structural properties. The results of natural weathering revealed that the neat bio-PBS has retained approximately 74 % of tensile strength and 81 % of flexural strength after 12 months of aging, whereas composites retained 62-69 % tensile strength and approximately 70 % flexural strength. XRD results of 12-month-aged samples revealed that biocomposites have shown 19-21 % crystallinity. FTIR results showed that the number of carbonyl groups increased after aging. The results of soil degradation showed that ∼12 % weight loss occurred in untreated fiber-based composites. SEM images of soil degraded samples revealed surface cracks and fiber peeling. The degree of crystallinity of neat bio-PBS after soil degradation was reduced by ∼39 %. Overall, the incorporation of SFs can mitigate the performance of bio-PBS composites under outdoor natural weather and reduce plastic pollution after their end-of-life.